“Ice artistes”! What do you think of them?

To be honest, to me they’re just a waste of time and money …. zzzzzz! When I’d like to watch something like this I’d chose a circus. I don’t get what it has to do with skating?! In an ice show I want nothing else but real figure skating. Give me a mediocre skater for an “ice artiste” anytime!

What do you think of artistes (like Debbie Park or Irina Grigorian for example, I don’t mean those two Russian guys in “Swan Lake” costumes, they’re at least funny!) in ice shows? And are there any real good- and interesting acts out there?

I didn't mind seeing Irina Grigorian so much, I thought it was mildly interesting. I would've rather seen another "real" skater, but she didn't make me run screaming from the room.

Gary Beacom, on the other hand, I never got. I know what he was doing was difficult, but he bored me senseless.

Laura

Not sure what this topic is really about, but too bad you do not appreciate Gary Beacom. What he does is pure genious. Gary is a real innovator. My favorite program he did is "I'm Your Man" skated to a Lenord Cohen song. As a competitor Gary had a real hard time conforming to what the judges wanted. He was his "own man" and a free spirit so to speak, so found the competitive life a bit on the restrictive side. He always tried to reinvent moves and invent new ones. I always find Gary entertaining.

I agree with Ladskater. He was always trying to go beyond the limits. Gregorian is ok and entertaining but I would rather see another real skater. I just am not one to care much for the "artistes" as I would rather see real figure skaters. That's what I pay for.

Gary Beacom

PrincessLeppard,

You aren't the only one that never "got" Gary Beacom. I think much of him for going out and doing his thing his very own way, but I personally was never very drawn to him or his performances. Certainly, I tremendously respect anyone that tries to be different and innovative...but I sometimes think it is possible for one to try far too hard to be innovative (where "unique" becomes somewhat "bizarre"). However, figure skating is very subjective and what you and I found bizarre, others found quite interesting. I guess that is one of the great things about skating. By the way, what does Gary Beacom do now?

I thought Grigorian was best in the finale when she did regular skating and that the hoola hoop thing was a bore, but was meant to be token eye candy for the guys who were dragged to Champions on Ice. (As opposed to the guys who were there to see skating.)

Gary Beacom always bored me to tears. There's nothing to "get"--you either found him interesting to watch or you didn't. I didn't.... and this has nothing to do with the fact that he's a slimeball tax evader who thought he was above the law.

and this has nothing to do with the fact that he's a slimeball tax evader who thought he was above the law.

I wouldn't go so far as "slimeball" but what always really bugged me about the whole Beacom Tax Evasion thing was the fact that he wasn't even AMERICAN; if you're going to try and do some sort of protest against tax laws, at least have the decency to actually be a citizen of the country whose tax laws you are protesting against..... :sheesh: If you don't like our tax laws, then don't skate here. It's not like there are NO opportunities in Canada.

Ice Artistes

Well,to quote an old Jewish proverb,"That's entertainment!"I like Irina's preformances.So she isn't a Yamaguchi or a Bielmann.It wouldn't be as interesting if you didn't occasionally have something out of the norm.